Head versus dependent marking: the case of the clause

This paper explores the potential for synthesizing three distinct strands of syntactic theory: Nichols’ typological distinction between head-marking and dependent-marking languages, generative approaches to functional categories and their projections, and grammaticalization as a mechanism of syntactic change. While these frameworks differ in emphasis and methodology, the author argues that their convergence offers valuable insights into syntactic structure and evolution. The discussion is exploratory, highlighting parallels and raising questions rather than proposing definitive analyses. The concept of “head” emerges as a promising point of theoretical overlap, suggesting that integrating these perspectives may yield fruitful new approaches to syntactic theory. The paper encourages cross-framework dialogue and challenges assumptions about the incompatibility of diverse linguistic models (AI generated abstract, Copilot)